3-month-old baby cheats death as fire destroys buildings in Rivers, Kwara

It was nothing short of a miracle as a three-month-old baby narrowly escaped death when a fire outbreak razed about 15 rooms of makeshift structures on Batcha Estate, along Timothy Lane in the Rumuola area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The crisis occurred barely 24-hours after a midnight inferno consumed goods and property worth millions of naira at the Timber Market in the Marine Base area of the metropolis

Some eyewitnesses said the fire was caused by a food vendor who left her food on the fire.

A reserved resident who gave his name as Michael narrated how he rescued his three-month-old baby after a neighbour alerted him.

“I rushed inside my house and took my baby immediately. I am homeless now. I don’t know where to start,” he said.

Meanwhile, a charcoal fire which was not properly put out has engulfed a restaurant at Owoniboys area on Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Thursday night.

The state fire service in a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed the incident.

He added, “If not because of our quick response to the incident, the inferno would have become a huge one due to the proximity of a filling station to the scene of occurrence.”